<b>Chapter </b><b>45 </b>
A few minutester, Briar slung her backpack over her shoulder, popped in her earbuds, and headed out the door.
It only took five or six minutes to get to campus if she cut through the side streets, but walking from the university gates to the infirmary took over twenty minutes.
Still, Briar strolled along slowly, hands tucked in her pockets, taking her time. She hadn’t even known which direction the infirmary was in and had to pull up the Shoneport University map on her phone to figure it out.
The infirmary wasn’t far from the Traditional Medicine girls‘ dorm.
Briar pieced it together: Lydia and her crew must’ve gone straight to the infirmary <i>to </i>get her back checked out before ratting her out to the advisor.
But she doubted they’d take it to Joshua, the only Traditional Medicine advisor around today. After all, they’d have noticed by now that
Joshua had taken a shine to her.
Not wanting to let the issue slide and hoping to teach her a lesson, they’d gone to the advisor instead. ‘Clever move, but pretty low, Briar
thought.
As she neared the infirmary, her phone buzzed with a call from Frank.
Briar considered ignoring it–her nap had been cut short, and the day’s drama had left her in a foul mood–but she picked up anyway, her voice t and tired. “Hey?”
Frank’s tone was cautious, almost nervous. “Briar, where are you? I heard you got picked on?”
Briar raised an eyebrow, surprised he was taking her side right off the bat. She decided to mess with him a bit. “What if I’m the one who
started it?”
“No way,” Frank shot back without missing a beat. “Ashton says you’re tooid–back to go picking fights. Someone must’vee at you first, right?”
Briar’s opinion of Frank ticked up a notch. “Yeah, I got jumped, I’m heading to the infirmary now to sort it out with the advisor.”
“What?” Frank’s voice spiked with panic. “Don’t go alone–you’ll get ganged up on! Tell me where you are. I’ming right now.”
Briar could hear hurried footsteps through the phone, like Frank was already sprinting out the door.
Briar brushed it off, her tone calm but firm. “It’s fine. It’s just a little drama. They wouldn’t dare try anything serious.”
“No way, this is serious! If Ashton finds out, he’ll kill me,” Frank insisted, practically begging her to share her location.
Briar rolled her eyes, biting back augh.
‘Is he worried about me or just scared of getting chewed out by Ashton?‘ she wondered.
In the end, she relented and told him where she was. Frank made her promise to stay put until he <b>got </b>there.
But the one who showed up first… wasn’t Frank. It was Ashton. As Briar stood under a tree, she spotted a tall figure striding toward her. At first, she thought her eyes were ying tricks.
As Briar stood under a tree, she spotted a tall figure striding toward her. At first<i>, </i>she thought her eyes <i>were </i>ying <b>tricks</b>.
When that man got closer, she looked up, stunned. “Ashton?”
To Ashton, she looked so small and alone standing beneath that tree–like someone trying hard to hold it together after <b>getting </b><b>knocked </b>down. His heart twisted at the sight, and he said gently, “Yeah, it’s me. I heard you were getting picked on<b>, </b>so I swung by to check on you<i>? </i>
Briar’s lips twitched, barely holding back a smirk.
‘Swung by?‘ she thought, ‘That was themest excuse in the book..
She knew the Wade Group’s offices were nowhere near Shoneport University.
Even if he was in the area, “swinging by” the middle of campus was a stretch.
But none of that mattered as much as this–Ashton actually knew. He knew someone had tried to bully her.
‘Did Frank spill?‘ she wondered.
But Frank was just whining about how he was afraid Ashton would beat him up if he found out.
G